True wine connoisseurs have been known to remark that a well-made pink wine can be more appealing than either white or red wines. In Singapore, where the climate and local cuisine go beautifully with this light style of wine, pink wines may well have an extra appeal.



As a starting point it's helpful to know that pink wines are not simply a blend of white or red wines. They are wines that were on their way to being red but ended up getting off the ‘red boat' so to speak. To be precise, pink wines are pink because they do not complete the entire maceration process.  Longer skin contact, known as maceration, is what turns the wine red (see: Making Pink below).  Rosés, as they are called, are usually made by siphoning off the juice of red grapes after brief or limited contact with the color-bearing red grape skins.

Pink wine had its heyday in the sixties.  In those carefree days, wine snobbism was non-existent. Anyone hosting a BBQ would have the obligatory bottles of pink chilling in the ice bucket.  Those were the days when I tasted my first rosé.  Ah yes...the fond memory of the Portuguese Mateus Rosé that came in an oversized-perfume bottle and later stood proudly on the family mantle reincarnated as a candlestick...

My personal ‘pink journey' carried on with jammy Aussie rosés and soon after led my palate to distant France where I discovered Tavel (Rhône) and Côtes de Provence rosé.  I continued to explore Old World pinks and discovered Cerasuolo Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, an incredibly juicy and delicious pink wine from the muscular ‘calf' of Italy's boot.

Somewhere in between Black Tower rosé and an Austrian Schilcher pink, I stumbled upon California's famous ‘blush' wine, oddly called White Zinfandel.  Made by Sutter Home, this partially-fermented or "stuck fermentation" White Zin (stuck, meaning that the fermenting yeasts die out before ingesting all of the sugar and converting it into alcohol)  arrived on the scene in about 1975 and turned out to be a best-seller.  With watermelon flavours and thirst quenching qualities, the tangy and sweet wine refreshed me (and many others) when dining on local, chili piquant Asian cuisine.

My love affair with pink wines endured and kept me amused on many a lazy afternoon with Rosados (Italy) and Rosatos (Spain). Sometimes an aperitif sip of Pineau des Charentes Rosé (made from lightly fermented grape juice mixed with Cognac) would serve as a pleasant, sweet, smooth and full-flavoured diversion from my usual dry pinks.

Without doubt, I was in pink heaven and there was no turning back. Whether sparkling Lambrusco red, Marzemino and Brachetto d'Acqui, all I saw was pink haze. I would seek out Bandol, Rosé de Jura, and Rosé of Cabernet wines to go with main courses - whether red or white meats - only to treat myself and guests to an Anjou demi-sec from France's Loire Valley for dessert.

Then one day at the buffet table, an influential banker (male) took me aside and whispered, "Pink wines are for women and effeminate men!"  Instantly, my full glass of pink disappeared behind a huge platter of chicken wings.  Times were changing and the drinking of big heavy reds was the in-thing.  Getting on the mailing lists of rare cult wines (from Le Pin to Screaming Eagle) and having a glass of Grand Cru Classé conferred kudos to the drinker.  It was the era of ‘see and be seen' wine consumption,  so like most men in Singapore I believed that being caught with a pink wine in hand was akin to wearing zebra-striped leotards to a black-tie gala!

All that changed when I visited the French Riviera and noticed that everybody enjoyed rosé wines with their meals - whether it was grilled Dorade Royale, or cold lobster, or Bouillabaisse or even spicy mutton Cous Cous.  The most brutish-looking men did not even bat an eyelid when ordering pink wine. "Vin de rosé, s'il vous plait," (give me a rosé wine, please) they would say in low, reverberating voices to sommeliers who would knowingly nod and say, "biensûr" (of course).  Clearly, real men did drink pink wines and I saw them drink it!


Taste-wise, pink wines combine the cool refreshment of a white wine with ripe berry flavours and the textures of light red wine.  Indeed, Alsace pinot noir is so light that it is sometimes considered a pink wine. The original Bordeaux red, a very light red wine called clairet, is made from pure Cabernet-Sauvignon and can be compared to rosé even though it is dry and has more body than is usually found in a rosé wine.  Connoisseurs of these lighter reds claim that much like a rosé, you can not only drink them at lunch but also enjoy them on a sweltering tropical evening when the alternative, a full-bodied red wine, would send you to sleep. 

Pink wine also goes well with a range of seafood dishes where red wines tend to interact badly and throw off a metallic taste in the mouth. It is the tiny bit of tannic grip in pink wines that makes it the perfect accompaniment to seafood, especially those dishes served up with sauces. White wines often fail here due to their delicate nature.  

The colours of rosé wine range from the palest pink to light cherry with copper tints. Tilt the glass and look into them, some even have onion skin hues with purple grey edges - the hallmark of a fine wine. It is no wonder that some pink wines have taken names such as "vin gris" ("gray wine") or "oeil de perdrix" ("partridge eye"). In fact, one could colour-coordinate pink wines to many foods. For example, pink salmon goes gloriously with Rosé Champagne just as a grilled lamb chop left pink in the middle is nothing short of beautiful with a crisp Southern France rosé.

Since there are no rules, go ahead and enjoy pink wines at lunch, dinner, over the weekends or even as a nightcap.  I will certainly indulge in a rosé on Valentine's Day - since it matches the roses, and for the other 364 days in Singapore I'll stick with another match made in heaven - rosé with pepper crab!


Making Pink Wine Ed Soon 09/02/09